So who was Mrs Cain?

Intrigue and Incest in the Book of Genesis?

Well, go on. Where did Mrs Cain come from?

People have argued over this for centuries. Some say that there were plenty of exceptions to the incest rules where it was nesessary, so perhaps that's how Cain gets a son. Other people argue that, although Adam and Eve are reported as the first people there will have been other early human types ...

Like Neanderthal Man?

... oooh, very clever. These near humans may have contributed to the gene pool. The writers of Genesis were particularly keen to explain the pre-history of their peoples and they weren't too bothered about every little detail. Remember they collected "word of mouth" stories and brought them all together.

The writers have more to say about how human beings developed....

Enoch [Cain's son] had a son named Irad
who was the father of Mehujael
who had a son called Methushael
who was the father of Lamech
who had two wives, Adah and Zillah.

Good grief! Do I really want to know this rubbish?

It's not rubbish and you don't need to know who these people were. But ancient peoples did need to know! They had no birth certificates, no family photos; in fact nothing except memories and stories of their ancestors. This was their culture! So stay with it!

Adah gave birth to Jabal: who was the ancestor of those who raise livestock and live in tents.

Although this is a modern picture "of those who raise livestock and live in tents", the lifestyle hasn't changed much since Cain's time.

His brother was Jubal: who was the ancestor of all musicians who play the harp and flute.

This shows Etruscan musical instruments from about 1200 BC but most ancient civilisations developed music by blowing and twanging.

Zillah gave birth to Tubal Cain: who made all kinds of tools out of bronze.

A typical ancient bronze axe-head.

Well I have to agree : all those things are part of real history.

So the bible writer (whoever he was) explains how primitive humans like Adam or Cain changed from being "hunter gatherers" to developing the beginnings of civilisation i.e. the bronze age! The bible isn't a science book; it isn't a learned treatise on ethnicity but it is written to explain how and why things happened.

Remember, there are plenty of things in our more recent history that cannot be fully explained.

Who first made fire?

Who baked the first bread?

Who decided how to make clothes?

Who invented language?

We know they happened; we just have to accept that nobody bothered to record the detail. And it's difficult detail we come to next.

Like What?

When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was like him, and he named him Seth. [he was a replacement for Abel]. After that he had other children and died at the age of 930.

Come on, 930 years old. Thats crazy!

 Next Bible Blog : Thursday 22nd November